The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-08-17
APPALLING RAILROAD DISASTER.
OVER ONE RUNDRED KILLED AID FOX Is
HUNDRED WOUNDED.
an Excursion Train Drops Through = Burning
Bridse-Cars TeiescopcG and Piled che
Upon Auother-Tht Disaster Seeie'ed
TO Have Been Deliberately
Projected,

to Have Been Deliberately
Projected.
CHICAGO, August IA special to the
Chicago Times, from Forest, H.. says:
Last night an excursion train on the
Toledo. Peoria and Western railroad weli
down with burning trcstlc, about three
miles east of ChattSworth and over 100
eScursionists killed and i0O or more badly
injured. The train consisted OF SIN sleep
erS. six day coaches and chair cars, and had
on board 800 eXcurs;onisls bound for Mag
ara Falls. The passengers hailed from va
rious points in central Dlincis, the majority.
however. coming from Peoria. The train
was so heavy that two engines were en-,
ploved, and was an hour and q half behind
time when it passed this place.
Chattsworth, the next station east OF
here, is six miles off. and the run there was
made in seven minutes.
Three miles from Chattsworth IS 4 little
slough, and where the railroad crosses a
dry run about zen feet deep and gttecn leet
wide. Over this vas stretched al ordinary
railroad trestle, and is the train came tL&
dering down on it. what was the horror ii
the engineer on the front engine when lie
discovered the bridge was burning. There
was no crance to stop. and lhe next instant
he was on it. But he Went C'cr safely, the
first engine keeping the rails. As 1t passed
over the structure tell, and the next engine
went down. Gar crashed into Car, coaches
piled upon each other, and ii less than Two
minutes nearly one hundred were crushed
to death and lnaay more died shortly alter.
The wounded We're L. be seen IN every dl-
rection. Only the Sleeping coachc, escaped,
and as the startled and addressed paSSen-
gers came tumb!iug out OF them they found
such a scene OF death aSiS rarely witnessed,
and such work to do that it seemed rs hu-
man hands were utterly incapable. 1t was
FIVE minutes OF midnight. Down il the
ditch lay Second Engineer McChntock
dead ana Fireman Applegate badly injured.
On top were piled three baggage cars, one
on top of another Then came SIX day
coaches. They were teleScopcd as cars
never were before, and three OF them were
pressed into the space OF one. Tie second
car had mounted Off It's trucks, crashed
through the car head, crushing the wood
aside Ike tinder, and lay there, resting on
top of the seats, where every passenger IN
the front car was lying dead or dying un-
derneath. Out of that Car but four people
came alive On top Of the second car lay
the third, smeared with the blood OF It's
victims The other three cars were broken
and twisted in every conceivable way, and
every crushed timber and beam represented
a crushed human frame and broken bone.
The air was filled with cries and ShrlekS OF
agony, and above all could be heard the
agonizing cries of little children, as in some
instances they lay pinned beside their dead
parents. The bridge was still burning,
and the cars were lying on and around the
fercely burning embcrS. Everywhere IN
the wreck were women and children whose
lives could be saved if they could be got
ten out, but whose death i'll 4 most horrible
form was certain if the twisted wood OF
the wreck caught. There was not drop
of water with which to fight tie tire
Only some fifty able-bodied men, who still
had presence of mind and nerve enough to
do'their duty. The only light was that OF
the burning bridge, and with It's aid these
brove men fought With desperation for
four hours. Earth was the only weapon
with which to fight, and an effort was
made to smother it. There was no pick or
shovel 10 be had, and nothing to carry The
Dirt with, but in their desperation they dug
e.ther fingers into the hard, dry earth, built
earthworks, handful by handful, and thus
kept back the foe. While this was going
on other courageous men crcpt under the
wreck beneath the fire and wooden bars
which held as prisoners so many precious
lives, and with pieces Of boards and some
times their hands beat back the flames. An
unfortunate being, who was pinned down
by heavy beam, looked on helplessly
while it seemed as if his death by fire was
certain. While the fight was thus going
on the ears of the workers were filled with
the groans of dying men, the angulshed
entreatieS of those whose death seemed GER
tain unless the terrible blaze could be eX
tinguished. Some of the uniortunateS dug
up the earth with their own hands, reckless
of the blood streaming from the ends OF
their fingers, and heaped it up in mounds,
to help subdue the fire, while all the: time
could be heard heartrendiDg cries, For
Gods sake, don't let US burn TO death
Finally, about daybreak, the fire was eX
tinguished Help came from Chattsworth,
Forest and Piper cities, and as the dead were
laid alongside of cath other out in a corn
field, there were ready hands to take them
into Chattsworth, while some Of the
woundep were carried to Piper city. One
hundred and eighteen was the awful po!i
of the dead, while the wounded number
four times as many.
When news of the disaster was first sent
over the wires prompt aid was at once sent.
Before o'clock in the morning, there were
plenty of people TO DO the work that needed
such prompt attention.
The town hall was improvised into a hos
pital. Tie entire capacity Of the little vii
lage was taxed, and k;nd-hearted women
drove in from miles around to give their
gentle ministrations to the sufferers.
No sooner had the wreck occurred than
a scene Of robbery commenced. Aliscre-
ants were on hand vino plundered the
desd, taking even the shoes which covered
their feet. Who these wretchcS are is not
known Whether they were a band Of pick
pockets who accompanied the train or Z
robber gang who was lurking in the vicini
ty cannot be said. 4 horrible suspicion
exists that the accident was 2 deliberately
planned case of train wreclling: that the
bridge was set on fire by miscreants who
hoped to seize the opportunity offered. The
robbers went into the cars when the fire
was burning fiercely underneath, and when
the poor creatures who We're pinned there
begged them for nclp, stripped them Of
their watches and jcwelry and searched
their pockets for money. When the dead
bodies were laid in the corn field the rob-
bers turned them over in search Of valua
bles That plundcr was done by an organ
lied gang was proven by the fact that six
M IN. hnl